


Boots and Squirrels

by velvetjinx



Series: The Ketchup Chronicles [2]
Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Deaf Clint Barton, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Food, brief mention of sex toys, doreen green is a bamf, kate and doreen are bffs, non sexual nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 07:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13243530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetjinx/pseuds/velvetjinx
Summary: Kate enjoys a day out with her best friend Doreen.





	Boots and Squirrels

**Author's Note:**

> I just headcanon Kate and Doreen as bffs, okay. XD

“What are your plans for today?” Clint asked, and Kate fondly watched him squirt ketchup over his eggs. 

“Uh, laundry, then meeting Doreen for lunch. I’d wanted to get some shopping in but I don’t think I’ll have time.”

Clint waved his fork in the air as he signed. “You go shopping. I’ll do the laundry today.”

“You sure?” Kate asked, frowning. “I don’t want to dump it all on you.”

He smiled softly at her. “Kate. It’s one day. Go do your shopping.”

Kate leaned over, kissing him briefly. “Thanks. I really just want to get some new boots that I saw were on sale, maybe a couple of shirts too. You need anything while I’m out?”

“Hmm.” Clint thought for a moment. “You could maybe see if they’ve got any men’s boots in the sale too? You know what I’ll wear.”

“Okay,” Kate replied happily, before finishing her last forkful of eggs and loading the dishes into the dishwasher. “I’d better go shower and get ready, then.”

As she passed Clint, he grabbed her arm, pulling her down onto his lap. She laughed as he kissed her, and ruffled his already messy hair. 

When he released her, she went through to the bathroom, smiling. He was definitely the best thing that had ever happened to her. 

By the time she was ready to leave, Clint was just getting out the shower himself. She grabbed the towel around his waist as he passed, whipping it off him and smacking him in the ass with it. 

“Oh, it’s _on_ ,” he growled, and ran after her, catching her quickly and wrapping his arms around her waist. 

“Noooo,” she cried out, laughing and turning around in the circle of his arms so he could see her lips and hands. “You’ll get my clothes damp!”

Clint grinned and shook his head like a dog, spraying water everywhere. “Oh no,” he deadpanned. “You look like you’ve been caught in a shower now.”

“You’re such a jerk,” she responded, smiling and kissing him. “Okay, I gotta go. See you later!”

“Say hey to Doreen for me.”

“Will do!” she called as she left. 

***

Her shopping trip was a great success. She’d found not only the boots she wanted, reduced even further than she’d thought, but she’d also found a pair for Clint that were practically a steal. Laden with her bags—the boots plus three shirts—she made her way to the cafe to meet Doreen. 

When she arrived, Doreen was already there, sitting at a table outside and sipping her coffee. She occasionally broke pieces off of her cookie and fed them to Tippy-Toe, who was sitting on her shoulder. That was raising some eyebrows around the cafe, but Doreen didn’t seem to notice the attention. 

When Doreen spotted Kate approaching, she stood, waving and grinning. “Hey hey!” she said happily. “Been shopping?”

Kate nodded, hugging Doreen and kissing her cheek. “Got the most amazing boots on sale. 80 percent off, too!”

“Nice!” Doreen responded, looking impressed. 

As soon as they sat down, a waiter appeared to take Kate’s order. He raised an eyebrow slightly when she ordered her coffee—large, black, two extra shots—but said nothing, returning quickly with her coffee and an oatmeal muffin. 

Tippy-Toe was sitting on the table now, occasionally chattering to Doreen, and Kate mostly ignored her. She always did, making out to Doreen that she annoyed her, but she was always the first to secretly feed her titbits off of her plate. 

As they sat talking, a woman with a small boy walked past. “Mommy, look, a squirrel!” the boy said excitedly, trying to tug her closer. “I want a tame squirrel!”

The boy’s tone was spoiled and belligerent, and Kate and Doreen raised an eyebrow at each other. 

“Leave the squirrel alone, sweetie,” the mother said soothingly. “We’ll go to the park and you’ll see lots.”

“No, Mommy, I wanna pet that squirrel!” the little boy said, stamping his feet. 

“Sorry,” Doreen said to them in sickly sweet tones. “She’s only tame with me and might bite.”

The look on the mother’s face was priceless and she stalked away, dragging the child with her and muttering something about rabies. The child kicked and screamed but soon enough they were out of earshot. 

Doreen and Kate looked at each other in disgust. “Spoiled kid,” Kate said, taking a sip of her coffee. 

“Yeah,” Doreen said, wrinkling her nose. “Anyway, how’s Clint these days?”

“He’s good, yeah!” Kate smiled. “He told me to say hey.”

“He’s good for you, Kate,” Doreen said quietly. “You smile a lot more these days.”

Kate shrugged. “Yeah, I know. He’s… he’s really great,” she added, blushing a little. “And what about you? Still sworn off of dating?”

“Ugh, yeah,” Doreen replied, screwing up her face. “Unless you get a good one like Clint, men are just too much hassle. And if you have a decent box under your bed they’re pretty unnecessary too,” she finished with a wink. 

“Doreen!” Kate began to laugh, slightly scandalized, and Doreen laughed along with her. 

“I’m serious! And with men you never know what you’re going to get whereas if you shop it’ll always be the right size.”

“Oh my god.” Kate rested her hand against her burning face, chuckling. “It’s not all about sex, though. It’s nice to have someone to wake up to, you know? Especially if you have nightmares.”

Doreen smiled gently. “Yeah, I’ll bet.”

“Anyway, I’m pretty lucky. Even if I am constantly having to defend myself, or him, or both of us because of the age difference.” Kate sighed, taking a large sip of her cooling coffee. “I’m an adult, for god’s sake. He has never taken advantage of me. Not once. And he’s not exactly filthy rich so I’m hardly a gold digger.”

Doreen narrowed her eyes. “Who’s been saying that? You know I’ll fight them for you!” She put her fists up, and Tippy-Toe mimicked her, making Kate laugh. 

“No one in particular. We just get some really judgmental looks sometimes, and people on the street sometimes whisper about us. Plus I know some of the Avengers gave him a hard time about it when we first got together.”

“Ugh, they need to mind their own messy lives and not interfere in yours,” Doreen said sternly. “You want me to have a word with them? You know I will.”

Kate shook her head. “Nah. I think they’re all okay about it now. And they were probably just trying to protect their friends. But they should have known us well enough to know that when we did get into a relationship we both went in with our eyes open and a good understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

“Plus he already knew about your past without you having to go through it all again,” Doreen pointed out. 

“Yeah, that… that really helped.” Kate sighed, then shook her head. “Anyway. Enough about me. Tell me all the gossip from your end!”

They chatted for another hour or so over refilled coffee cups, until eventually Doreen looked at her watch. 

“Damn, I’ve got a meeting in an hour so I’d better scoot.” She smiled at Kate. “It was so great to see you, though. You’re looking good.”

“Thanks, Doreen,” Kate replied, smiling back. “You too.”

They hugged goodbye—Tippy-Toe gave her a kiss on the cheek while chattering away—and Kate picked up her bags, heading back to the apartment. When she got there, she could hear the sounds of a video game from the living room. 

She took the bags through, noticing that Clint didn’t even look around when she came in, meaning he had his hearing aid out. She walked around the sofa into his peripheral vision, and he turned when he saw her, smiling. 

“Hey!” he signed after pausing his game. “How were Doreen and Tippy-Toe?”

She dropped her bags. “Good! We had coffee and cake.”

“Successful day?” he asked, pointing to the bags on the floor. 

Kate nodded. “I got you boots,” she signed back, then picked up a bag and threw it to him. 

He took the box out, looked inside, and started to laugh before putting it down on the coffee table. “I don’t think these will suit me,” he signed, amused, picking up one of the boots and showing her. 

“Oops! Wrong bag.” She picked up the correct one and took it over to him, flopping down beside him on the sofa and kissing him. 

He looked inside and gave her a thumbs up. “Those look great! Thanks, babe.”

She kissed him again, and snuggled into his side as he unpaused the game and began to play again. She felt her eyes drift closed and yawned wide. It had been a good day, but busy, and she was beat. She would just let her eyes close for a second. Just… a second…

When she awoke, she was lying the full length of the sofa, the patchwork blanket covering her. She blinked and looked up to see Clint watching her from over his book. “Sleep well?” he signed, and she grinned, nodding. 

He got up and settled himself on the sofa, laying her head on his lap and stroking her hair. She nearly purred as his calloused fingers rubbed her scalp. 

The thing was… Clint wasn’t perfect. But neither was she. And their imperfections fit just as well as everything else. 

She smiled up at him, squeezing his leg gently. People might say he was a human disaster, but he was her human disaster, and that was all she cared about.


End file.
